A Framework For Service Preliminary Planning In e-Government Initiatives

In this paper we propose a framework to support a preliminary planning of services in the e-Government domain, where we consider the case of Government to Business (G2B) interaction. The present work is founded in the context of the Service Science, an emerging effort to build a scientific discipline based on the concept of service. Services apply in a broad range of different domains, such as, among others, business, government, health care, finance. Due to the different facets of the concept of service, the diversities between these domains imply a growing complexity in providing a common theoretical framework. Moreover, in service planning where value configurations are strictly dependent on value propositions (and, in the eGovernment domain, on the political vision), the alignment of strategic and operational level is related to value based business modeling. The core of the proposed framework is a methodology, built on the basis of a conceptual model of the service domain. The general idea of the methodology is that the planning should be driven by a clear understanding of (i) the elements composing the service as a value configuration framework, (ii) the related qualities, and (iii) the strategic/political objectives. An application of the framework is discusse

The eGovQual Methodology: Information Systems Planning as Research Intervention

In this paper we discuss eGovQual a methodology for planning eGovernment initiatives in public administrations with specific attention to the strategic planning and preliminary operational planning phases. The key elements of the methodology are the multidisciplinary approach, which considers social, economical, organizational, juridical and technological issues in the identification and ranking of eGovernment projects, and the quality-driven strategy which considers the assessment of actual and future target quality values for services, processes, organizational systems, and technologies. eGovQual aims to satisfy a real need of constituencies and stakeholders involved in eGovernment projects, confirmed in the context where the methodology has been developed and tested such as the eGovernment for Mediterranean Countries (eG4M) project and former preliminary experiences in the Italian Public Administrations by the interactions with local authorities during the on the field experimentations. A structured process is needed, that provides a clear perspective on the different facets that eGovernment initiatives usually have to challenge, and disciplines the complex set of decisions to be taken.The available approaches to eGovernment provide usually only one perspective to public managers and local authorities on the domain of intervention, either technological, or organizational, or juridical, or social. Our aim is to provide a methodology supporting in a structural fashion the choice of the optimal eGovernment plan, considering all the above mentioned perspectives. The quality driven construction of the eGovernment plan is initially influenced by the social, juridical and organizational perspective, while achieves subsequently its final shape when considering the economic and technological perspectives. The results of the interventions carried out are described at a glance

CONVERGENCE OF DIGITAL MEDIA AND INFORMATION GROWTH IN NEWPAPERS: A CASE STUDY

At the state of the art, both in information systems and (media) management studies, there is still few researches which investigate how newspaper companies organize their activities in order to manage the critical developments challenging their organisations through the digitalization of news distribution). In order to explore these issue, in this paper we first consider how the adaptation to convergence and information growth can be managed in newspaper companies undergoing reorganization to embrace technological innovation and alignment to the environment. Besides the adaptive cycle, indeed, we also consider how organizations align the adopted strategy to operations and in particular to the current information technology infrastructure and how it enhance (internalexternal) user innovation In particular, we discuss these issues in a pilot case study carried out at Corriere della sera, one of the main Italian newspaper. The aim of the research at Corriere della Sera is to understand how a major national newspaper organization manages the integration between activities related to the print newspaper and at the same time opportunities enabled by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as well as by networks, social media and mobiles technology. Besides how the aim of the research is also to provide evidence of why the strategy is linked to organizational structure as well as information management configurations

Digital business innovation: roadmaps and attitudes from a FutureEnterprise perspective

The paper investigates the potential axes and dimensions of roadmaps for digital business innovation for entrepreneurs as well as enterprises. Actually, digital business innovation requires a change of perspective with regard to IT governance and management of IT infrastructure. This is due to the need to adapt them to the constant evolution and changes in business models, consequent to the digitalization of company products and services. Also, the paper considers the business models fitting the diverse roadmaps showing their mapping to a company value chain. Finally, the paper discusses the characteristics of four key types of digital business organization “attitudes”, resulting from their orientation towards execution or else differentiation. The paper is based on insights and results from the FutureEnterprise project, which aims to deliver a research roadmap on new forms of internet-based enterprise innovation. The focus of the project is on what are defined there as “enterprises of the future”, that are driven by constant business model transformation and innovation, acting as multi- sided platforms built on - as well as emerging from - digital innovations at the global as well as local level to produce shared value including that beyond monetization

MAKING PEOPLE AWARE OF DEVIATIONS FROM STANDARDS IN HEALTH CARE

In this paper we consider the role of standards as a means for interoperability among members of different communities. If we consider, in particular, the healthcare domain, there is an increasing number of efforts to develop explicit and formal representations of medical concepts so as to provide a common infrastructure for the reuse of clinical information and for the integration and the sharing of medical knowledge across the world. A critical issue raises when local customizations of standards are used as standards. If this occurs, standards are no more able to guarantee their supportive function to interoperability. To overcome this problem we propose a solution aiming at making members of different facilities aware of the changes occurred locally in a standard. At architectural level, we propose to build a layer that acts upon the interface of the application by which the articulation of activities across organizational boundaries is mediated (e.g., an handing over between different healthcare facilities). At application level, we provide practitioners with a common visual notation allowing them enrich the artifacts that mediate inter-articulation, by means of a reference to a standard, e.g. a schema of intervention. We claim that this increased awareness can support different people in aligning practices with standards and making standards effective means for coordination and interoperability. Furthermore, we report a case focusing on such a layer and visual notation by which to enrich the interface of the information system that mediates the handingover between an Emergency Service and a hospital emergency department

An Ontology Based Approach to Data Quality Initiatives Cost-Benefit Evaluation

In order to achieve higher data quality targets, organizations need to identify the data quality dimensions that are affected by poor quality, assess them, and evaluate which improvement techniques are suitable to apply. Data quality literature provides methodologies that support complete data quality management by providing guidelines that organizations should contextualize and apply to their scenario. Only a few methodologies use the cost-benefit analysis as a tool to evaluate the feasibility of a data quality improvement project. In this paper, we present an ontological description of the cost-benefit analysis including the most important contributes already proposed in literature. The use of ontologies allows the knowledge improvement by means of the identification of the interdependencies between costs and benefits and enables different complex evaluations. The feasibility and usefulness of the proposed ontology-based tool has been tested by means of a real case study

Interoperability challenges for ICT-enabled governance: towards a pan-European conceptual framework

In the European academic and institutional debate, interoperability is predominantly seen as a means to enable public administrations to collaborate within Members State and across borders. The article presents a conceptual framework for ICT-enabled governance and analyses the role of interoperability in this regard. The article makes a specific reference to the exploratory research project carried out by the Information Society Unit of the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) of the European Commission¿s Joint Research Centre on emerging ICT-enabled governance models in EU cities (EXPGOV). The aim of this project is to study the interplay between ICTs and governance processes at city level and formulate an interdisciplinary framework to assess the various dynamics emerging from the application of ICT-enabled service innovations in European cities. In this regard, the conceptual framework proposed in this article results from an action research perspective and investigation of e-governance experiences carried out in Europe. It aims to elicit the main value drivers that should orient how interoperable systems are implemented, considering the reciprocal influences that occur between these systems and different governance models in their specific context

Assessing Social Value in Open Data Initiatives: A Framework

Open data initiatives are characterized, in several countries, by a great extension of the number of data sets made available for access by public administrations, constituencies, businesses and other actors, such as journalists, international institutions and academics, to mention a few. However, most of the open data sets rely on selection criteria, based on a technology-driven perspective, rather than a focus on the potential public and social value of data to be published. Several experiences and reports confirm this issue, such as those of the Open Data Census. However, there are also relevant best practices. The goal of this paper is to investigate the different dimensions of a framework suitable to support public administrations, as well as constituencies, in assessing and benchmarking the social value of open data initiatives. The framework is tested on three initiatives, referring to three different countries, Italy, the United Kingdom and Tunisia. The countries have been selected to provide a focus on European and Mediterranean countries, considering also the difference in legal frameworks (civic law vs. common law countries)

From Public Value to Social Value of Digital Government: Co-Creation and Social Innovation in European Union Initiatives

This paper discusses the development of key features in European Union policy and service redesign, based on social innovative practices where co-creation and the related phenomenon of digital social innovation have a high potential impact. The idea underneath this claim is that information and communication technologies are becoming increasingly pervasive in the design, development and delivery of social innovation and co-creation initiatives which should not be limited to service delivery, rather serve as the driver for opening-up governance systems and change the way public organizations are structured and policy designed and implemented. Consequently, the paper discusses the key elements identified for setting up open and collaborative governance systems, while, taking stock from the analysis of policy experiences and practices funded by the European Commission, an overview of main drivers and barriers are presented. The paper concludes outlining recommendations for future research, as well as implications and possible directions for policy

DISTINGUISHING “CROWDED” ORGANIZATIONS FROM GROUPS AND COMMUNITIES: IS THREE A CROWD?

In conventional wisdom on crowdsourcing, the number of people define the crowd and maximizing this number is often assumed to be the goal of any crowdsourcing exercise. However, we propose that there are structural characteristics of the crowd that might be more important than the sheer number of participants. These characteristics include (1) growth rate and its attractiveness to the members, (2) the equality among members, (3) the density within provisional boundaries, (4) the goal orientation of the crowd, and (5) the "seriality" of the interactions between members of the crowd. We then propose a typology that may allow managers to position their companies’ initiatives among four strategic types: crowd crystals, online communities, closed crowd, and open crowd driven innovation. We show that incumbent companies may prefer a closed and controlled access to the crowd, limiting the potential for gaining results and insights from fully open crowd-driven innovation initiatives. Consequently, we argue that the effects on industries and organizations by open crowds are still to be explored, possibly via the mechanisms of entrepreneurs exploiting open crowds as new entrants, but also for the configuration of industries such as, e.g., finance, pharmaceuticals, or even the public sector where the value created usually comes from interpretation issues and exploratory problem solving